Thanks for the clarification. Bair’s meditation was quite powerful although I now prefer ‘observing the mind’ (and my god there is a lot of rubbish in there *lol*) and “loving kindness .. well at least for now 🙂

Regards

Cris Popp

]]>By: Seniahttp://positivepsychologynews.com/news/genevieve-douglass/2013021125424/comment-page-1#comment-133823
Wed, 13 Feb 2013 07:19:11 +0000http://positivepsychologynews.com/?p=25424#comment-133823That’s pretty cool when the entire body works together like that if it is in fact cyclical between the different parts – physical, emotional, etc. Thanks, Genna!
]]>By: Ozhttp://positivepsychologynews.com/news/genevieve-douglass/2013021125424/comment-page-1#comment-133822
Wed, 13 Feb 2013 01:07:17 +0000http://positivepsychologynews.com/?p=25424#comment-133822Senia – Vagal tone is a measure of self control so the muscle analogy is very appropriate given Roy Baumeister’s perspectives.
]]>By: Genevieve Douglasshttp://positivepsychologynews.com/news/genevieve-douglass/2013021125424/comment-page-1#comment-133821
Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:12:49 +0000http://positivepsychologynews.com/?p=25424#comment-133821Senia,

Thanks for the good questions. I don’t know whether it is cyclical, but that does seem to be what Fredrickson is thinking. Having a strong vagal tone seems to cause greater increases in positive emotion (it sounds a lot like a muscle — as you build up a muscle it’s easier and easier to strengthen it), and with increases in positive emotion and social connection, there were increases in vagal tone.

Since smiling is an expression of positive emotion and can also cause positive emotion, it probably affects your heart to smile, even when you aren’t initially feeling happy. (Though, I believe there’s also some research showing that “service industry” smiles can have detrimental effects, so, there’s important nuance there.)

I came across a study a few years ago (but couldn’t find it again) on vagus nerve stimulation in epileptic patients, and it mentioned that patients reported improvements in mood, so it seems pretty likely that these are reciprocally related. It seems like an optimism intervention study would be a good place to start, since optimism is so robustly related to vagal tone.

What a rich conglomeration of articles. Lovely. Thank you.
Incredible the interaction of physical and emotional, isn’t it? Thanks for more clarification about it.

I have a question – which is the cause and which the effect? In your reading of these articles, do you think it’s cyclical – physical and emotional influencing each other, or do you think one generally precedes the other?

Kathryn, on editing, beautiful choice of picture for this article with the Tibetan monastery.

Sorry for the confusion — Seeing the rubber hand be touched created the illusion for some that the hand was part of their body. Those who were less accurate in detecting their heartbeat were more likely to be swayed by the illusion, which suggests that how well you are in touch with your body internally can affect your perception of it externally.

And interesting about the Sufi meditation. Thank you for making that connection. I haven’t heard of it, but I’m fascinated by various types of meditation.

Thank you for your article. There is a school of meditation that involves focusing on your heart – I think it comes from the Sufi tradition. Puran Bair in his book “Living from the Heart” describes it.

I’m a little bit confused by the section of your article ” Those who were less affected by the touching of the hand tended to have more accurate awareness of their heart. ” – Surely it is not a good thing to be less affected by touch?

Does this suggest that the more awareness you have of your internal self the less you have of your skin?